Ewan reigns as Tour of Britain starts in style
Australian takes first stage after bunch sprint Cavendish limited to support role after injury
Edinburgh gave this year’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain an impressive send-off yesterday, thousands of fans packing Scotland’s capital as the peloton made their way from St Giles’ Cathedral up the Royal Mile, before Australian Caleb Ewan won the opening stage in a bunch sprint in Kelso 116 miles (188km) later.
Ewan, who also won the final stage in London last year and will be chasing a hat-trick of wins when the peloton arrives in Blyth, Northumberland, today, profited from an excellent lead-out to launch his sprint with about 200 metres remaining. But, in a dramatic finale, it still required a photo-finish to separate the 23-year-old from Edvald Boasson Hagen and Team Sky’s Elia Viviani as the trio clattered over the final section of cobblestones.
Britain’s Mark Cavendish did not contest the sprint, instead playing a supporting role for Boasson Hagen, as he continues to make his way back from the broken shoulder he suffered at this summer’s Tour de France. The Manx rider rolled in with his team-mate Bernie Eisel, a few minutes down on the bunch.
Cavendish had hoped to challenge for the general classification at this year’s edition of the Tour of Britain, with up to seven of the eight stages expected to end in a bunch sprint. But he has had only three weeks back on his bike since his crash. He also contracted glandular fever earlier this season.
Chris Lawless, riding for the British national team, was the highest placed home rider, finishing sixth on the stage. Geraint Thomas who, like Cavendish, is making his way back from a race-ending crash at the Tour de France, and Alex Dowsett finished safely in the bunch. With a 10-mile time trial coming up in Essex on Thursday, both men have high hopes of finishing high up on the GC.
This year’s race looks as if it will be a contest between pure sprinters and rouleur types who can timetrial well. If one sprinter can dominate, he can pick up 10 bonus seconds on the line each time he wins. If the sprinters divide up the stages between them, however, then someone who can put 30-40 seconds into the rest in Clacton-onsea on Thursday could finish on top. And there is always the potential for breakaway victories.
The break never had much chance yesterday. A group of eight riders escaped up the road, opening up a gap of about three minutes, but they never looked like hanging on. Two of them, Poles Lukasz Owsian and Karol Domagalski, held on a little longer than the rest, but Dimension Data and Katusha-alpecin worked hard to shut them down.
It was Orica-scott who emerged at the front as the race entered the final stretch and they got their reward as Ewan bumped and ground his way to victory, his bike slipping and skidding underneath him.
“We came through the finish line during the race so I got to look at the road surface and I knew it was going to be a pretty bumpy sprint,” he said. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to go down into my normal low sprinting position and I had to stay a bit more upright.”
Team Sky’s sporting director Dario Cioni admitted the team had hoped to see Viviani, who has been in excellent form, win the stage. But he said his men would improve. “We’ve got some very strong riders here so it’s up to us to take on the race,” he said. “Some guys like G [Thomas] it’s his first race back after the Tour crash, so he’ll be improving during the week. Everyone did a great job. The legs are there and it will come.”